BUCKNACKT'S SORDID TAWDRY BLOG
We should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive & well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate, bier or wein in hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WHOO-HOO, WHAT A RIDE!!!!!!"

When Daniel Pierce told his extended family he was gay, he didn't expect
the violent, hateful reaction he received. He is now staying with a
family friend, away from his abusers.

BY Sunnivie Brydum

August 28 2014 11:33 AM ET
UPDATED: August 28 2014 6:20 PM ET

A 19-year-old gay man is safe and staying with a family
friend in Atlanta, Georgia, after suffering physical and verbal abuse at
the hands of his stepmother, father, and grandparents when he told them
he was gay.

Daniel Pierce filmed his family's reaction to his
confirmation that he was gay in chilling first-hand look at the violence
and rejection that can result when parents don't accept their child's
sexual orientation.

The video,
which Pierce captured on his cell phone and a coworker uploaded, has
been viewed nearly 800,000 times on YouTube at press time, since it was
published Wednesday evening. Pierce's boyfriend set up a GoFundMe account
to help his partner cover living expenses, as the family made good on
its threat to cut the teenager off financially, even taking his car. At
press time, the GoFundMe page has raised more than $20,000.

Pierce's aunt, Teri Cooper, confirmed the video's authenticity to The Advocate,
explaining that she picked Daniel up on Wednesday after responding to a
frantic text alerting her that his family was trying to stage an
"intervention" to "pray away the gay." Cooper says when she arrived at
the home, the family wouldn't let her inside, but Pierce emerged with a
split lip. Cooper says that wound came from his stepmother, who punched
him in the mouth during the altercation that can be overheard in the
video.

Cooper also confirmed that Pierce is now staying with her
and supportive friends in Atlanta, where he is safe, though still shaken
by the week's events and the surrounding publicity from his assault
quickly going viral. Cooper explained that Pierce had just started
classes last week at Georgia Highlands College, where he plans to major
in psychology.

In the opening moments of the video, Pierce's grandmother
can be heard telling the young man that she has known since he was a
small child that he was gay. Nevertheless, the woman tells her grandson
that she believes he has made a choice to be gay, that it is "a path [he
has] chosen". When he tries to refute her claims by pointing to
"scientific proof" that sexual orientation is innate, she says she
believes in "the word of God," not so-called science.

Cooper says that despite their reliance on scripture in
rejecting one of their own, Pierce's family is not especially religious,
and does not regularly attend church services.

Shortly thereafter, the situation escalates, as Pierce's
father tells him he is a disgrace and calls him a "queer," while his
stepmother screams at the teenager and begins to hit him.

While stories of parents accepting and affirming their
LGBT children are becoming more common, this clip provides a stark
reminder that many LGBT youth still face emotional, physical, and
spiritual violence in their families of origin. Familial rejection is
one of the leading causes of the high number of LGBT youth who are
homeless — estimates have found that as many as 40 percent of homeless youth are LGBT-identified.

Trigger Warning: The video below contains severe verbal and physical abuse.
I'm still shaking with anger and revulsion after watching this video
recorded by a young man who has come out to his clearly Fundamentalist
Christian Family. The young man's (note) stepmother, after telling her stepson
that she has known since he was a child that he was gay, chides him for
making the "choice" to become gay. The unidentified man assures her
that this is not the case while she begins citing biblical teaching to
prove that he is wrong.
After telling him that he has to leave his home, things escalate as
another woman begins to berate him in earnest, screaming obscenities at
him before physically attacking him as the young man screams in fear and
shock. As the video concludes, the father weighs in raving mad, calling
him a disgrace. Watch this video only if you have a strong
constitution.

http://youtu.be/1df_i26wh-w
This video illustrates very clearly the danger that people and
organizations that preach anti-gay bigotry pose to our community. Our
streets often become home for children who come out in a family such as
the one we see in this video. The Williams Institute estimates that 40% of children who end up homeless are LGBT. Further, The Trevor Project reports
that LGBT youth are 4 times more likely than the general population to
attempt suicide and that suicide is the "2nd leading cause of death
among young people ages 10 to 24." Given the brutality of this five
minute clip, it is easy to understand these statistics.
Dan Savage has reached out to try to find this young man to offer aid.

That was hard to listen to. My heart
breaks for that poor, brave, tough kid. What the fuck is wrong with
these people?
We could have a fundraiser up and running for this poor kid by morning—if we knew who he was and where he was.

I hope he finds Dan's message and gets in touch with him.
If you or someone you know find themselves in a similar situation, know that there are resources available. The National Runaway Switchboard at 1-800-RUNAWAY as well as The Ali Forney Center
are two excellent organizations who stand by ready to help. No child
should find themselves homeless or have to live in an abusive situation
simply for being who they are.UPDATE: With many thanks to fellow kos member, sabathiel, the young man has stepped forward. His name is Daniel and you can donate here.

Oh My you guys! I am in tears! I didn't realize that this
was even set up for me! I am so thankful for all the comments, support
and donations! I don't even know how to thank y'all! I wish I could give
each and everyone of you a huge hug! I was trying to respond to
everyone but I couldn't keep up!! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! This
is all just so amazing!!!
Thank You from the bottom of my heart!!
Daniel

UPDATE 2: With gratitude to cooper888, here is a link to more of Daniel's story.
(note) Updated to reflect accuracy

THIS is disgusting, and I hope and pray his daughter is able to overcome the trauma of being abused by her father. Her being brave enough to finally come forward is a big step, and hopefully will be inspirational to other victims to come forward too. He is a sick, perverted person, and from the picture below his fascination with guns is probably because he suffers from SFBOSP. From +Daily Kos .....

Will Hayden is known for his business in Louisiana called Red Jacket
Firearms. They are a firearm specialty company, buying, selling and
making firearms.
The show is fairly popular.
Was...fairly popular.
Hayden has been arrested twice in the past couple of weeks or so for charges of child molestation and more recently, rape.
Of his own 12 year-old daughter.'Sons of Guns' star booked on rape charges

The alleged victim told deputies with the East Baton Rouge
Sheriff's Office that since March 2013, that Hayden had raped her almost
daily, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
The victim says Hayden took her virginity when she was 11-year-old
and would allegedly take her in his bedroom and rape, according to the
affidavit. The victim told authorities she did not report the acts
because she feared physical abuse from Hayden.

He is reported to have used the common threat of "tell nobody: I'm all you have".

On Wednesday, Discovery Channel confirmed the network has
canceled its docu-series “Sons of Guns.” The news comes two weeks after
TMZ reported that the show’s star, Will Hayden, was arrested in
Louisiana on child molestation charges involving his 12-year-old
daughter. Although he was released after posting bail, Hayden was
arrested again on Tuesday with an added charge of alleged aggravated
rape of a child.
“Given the serious and horrific nature of the charges against Will
Hayden, we have decided to halt further production of ‘Sons of Guns’ and
cancel the series,” the network said in a statement Wednesday.

This should be the least of his worries now.
For those unfamiliar with this fine entertainment program, here's a
nice distillation of what it's a;; about. They have modifed and built a
modern Thomspon machine gun for a local sheriff's dept.

SOME people think the police in Ferguson, Missouri are being maligned, that the actions of one officer do not represent the whole department. I don't know how they can reach that conclusion considering the actions of the Ferguson police after Michael Brown was murdered by officer darren wilson, his body left lying in the street over four hours, the brutality of the police to protest following the murder. For me this confirms my opinion that the police department of Ferguson is lead and staffed by racist, fascist pigs and not only does the U.S. Dept of Justice need to investigate them, charges need to be filed against the Ferguson police dept for civil rights and civil liberties violations and the entire department should be replaced. THE wrongs of the Ferguson police do not, in any way, justify the violence and looting of some of the protesters, it does not justify anyone's racism and hatred. Michael Brown's family is to be commended for their tireless commitment to peace and reconciliation in Ferguson, and there are many other unsung advocates for peace, justice and reconciliation working hard in the community. The Crossing The Racial Divide discussion and study guide (released by +Sojourners on 29MAR12 after Trayvon Martin's murder) might be a resource for those interested in peace and justice to consider. From +Daily Kos and +NPR

Why have the residents of Ferguson, Missouri reacted with such anger to the still-unexplained shooting of Michael Brown? It is a mystery.

As darkness fell on Canfield Drive on August 9, a makeshift
memorial sprang up in the middle of the street where Michael Brown's
body had been sprawled in plain view for more than four hours. Flowers
and candles were scattered over the bloodstains on the pavement. [...]
Soon, police vehicles reappeared, including from the St. Louis County
Police Department, which had taken control of the investigation.
Several officers emerged with dogs. What happened next, according to
several sources, was emblematic of what has inflamed the city of
Ferguson, Missouri, ever since the unarmed 18-year-old was gunned down:
An officer on the street let the dog he was controlling urinate on the
memorial site.

And:

[Missouri state Rep. Sharon Pace] purchased some tea lights
for the family, and around 7 p.m. she joined Brown's mother, Lesley
McSpadden, and others as they placed the candles and sprinkled flowers
on the ground where Brown had died. "They spelled out his initials with
rose petals over the bloodstains," Pace recalled.
By then, police had prohibited all vehicles from entering Canfield
Drive except for their own. Soon the candles and flowers had been
smashed, after police drove over them.

This is all in the first hours after Brown's body was finally removed,
with the boy's mother and the rest of the crowd watching. So yeah, just a
crackerjack job by St. Louis law enforcement on this one. Start out by
letting dogs piss on the flowers, run over the candles in your cars,
move on to tear gassing people for walking around after dark. The
sixties never left Missouri.

The Rev. Willis Johnson (left), pastor of Wellspring Church
in Ferguson, speaks to the Rev. Michele Shumake-Keller after the panel
discussion in Ferguson, Mo., on Thursday. Johnson said he hoped the
event would be a step to healing a "community in trauma."

Whitney Curtis for NPR

To listen to the community event, go to

(Editor's Note: NPR's Michel Martin was invited by St. Louis
Public Radio to moderate a community conversation on Thursday around
race, police tactics and leadership following the shooting death of
Michael Brown. The following story is based on what happened at the
event.)
, is a study in contrasts. It boasts spacious
Victorians in its historic section, with lush green lawns, many
featuring "I Heart Ferguson" signs. Just blocks away, there's a
burnt-out QuikTrip. The signs here read "Hands Up, Don't Shoot." In some
cases, there are boarded-up windows advertising plans to reopen, or
decorated with the town's thanks for the love and support.
Not far from either: A mound of teddy bears and dried flowers marks the spot where 18-year-old
fell after being shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. Brown's
death not only put a spotlight on these contrasts, but has also
encouraged people to try to address them.
That was the Rev.
Willis Johnson's hope. He's the pastor of Wellspring Church, which
hosted a community conversation Thursday night that drew about 200
people. In welcoming the audience, Johnson acknowledged he's "gone from
feeling hurt to wanting to hurt," but he said he hoped the event would
be a step to healing a "community in trauma."

The conversation drew about 200 people to Wellspring Church.
Over the course of two hours, many members of the audience shared
similar reactions to problems in Ferguson.

Whitney Curtis for NPR

Over the course of two hours, many members of the audience — black, white, young and old — shared similar reactions.
Ferguson
resident Jeff Schultz said the problems that came up in the course of
the weeks of disturbances were "invisible to white people like me." He
urged the group to find ways to begin to talk about these issues in a
way that would keep other whites from getting defensive. But a number of
the African-American attendees repeatedly described feelings of being
disrespected by institutions and individuals that were supposed to serve
them.
"My people are not respected. ... Look at the schools:
Which schools are in trouble?" said former Missouri state Sen. Rita
Days. "Those are schools with predominantly people that look like me."
She urged the group to acknowledge those divisions.
A
panel of community leaders — which included Days; top law enforcement
officer Daniel Isom, a retired St. Louis police chief and the incoming
director of the Missouri Department of Public Safety; and Kimberly
McKinney, a Habitat for Humanity executive — wrestled over questions
about the police tactics used during the demonstrations, but also about
those used on a regular basis, which some observers have suggested is
tied to raising money for fines and fees.
Many people expressed
particular disgust at the treatment of Brown's body, which remained on
the scene and uncovered for more than four hours after the shooting.
Much of the anger was directed at Ferguson Mayor James Knowles and
others, who attended the event.

Ferguson resident Frankie Edwards shows a rubber bullet
wound he suffered during one of the nights of protests to NPR's Michel
Martin (right) and Ferguson Mayor James Knowles (second from right)
during the community conversation at Wellspring Church.

Whitney Curtis for NPR

David Jackson, a member of the St. Louis Board of Education, was blunt.
"I am so disappointed in you as a leader," he said. "The buck stops with you. It starts with you."
Among
the more remarkable developments of the evening was the emergence of an
increasingly vocal group of young people who, prompted by social media
and word of mouth, arrived at the event to share their experiences and
demand accountability. They spoke of being tear-gassed, spoken to
roughly by authorities and shot by rubber bullets.
One of the
more dramatic moments came as a young man who introduced himself as
Frankie Edwards pulled up his shirt to show the mayor a freshly scabbed
scar from a bullet wound he received while protesting in Ferguson. He
asked Knowles to apologize on behalf of the police, and asked the mayor
whether he would step down.
Knowles pointedly said he would not.
"I'm not stepping down," he said. "The voters have an opportunity to relieve me when the time comes."
But
African-Americans were not the only people to express disappointment
with Knowles' leadership through the crisis. Emily Davis, a white mother
of three who lives in Ferguson, said her first emotion after Brown's
death was deep sorrow, "but now I am angry," she said.
She had
been out protesting or volunteering daily with her children, but "I
still don't see any engagement [from the police]. And my kids are
confused. My son said, 'I thought police were the good guys.' "

Corinna Anjali (left) speaks to Mayor Knowles after the
event. "You're in the hot spot as the one person in power," Anjali said
to Knowles. "It's important for you to say 'I hear you' to the people
who have been hurt."

Whitney Curtis for NPR

Another attendee, Geoffrey Higginbotham, said this was his third
riot, after the 1965 Watts riots in Los Angeles following the murder of
the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
"I came here to the city of
Ferguson about 2 1/2 years ago to speak about economic development and
how we address these issues," he said. "They were not ready for it."
Both Johnson, the pastor, and Isom, the former police chief, concluded the evening on pensive notes.
Isom asked for the community's ongoing engagement in addressing the issues raised over the course of the evening.
"I
just feel sorrow. I feel sorry that as a leader in St. Louis, we
haven't done a really good job," he said. "I'm redoubling my effort to
hold myself accountable, and see what I can do to make it better. But I
can't do it by myself."
Johnson added: "I am hurt. Sometimes I feel a little helpless. But I am hopeful, because I know there's a better day."

"Every day there are people in our world that do absolutely amazing
things. People of all ages are very capable of doing tremendous,
courageous things in spite of their fear."-Mairead Corrigan

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."-Eleanor RooseveltHERE'S a great story about a corporate CEO who actually took care of his employees, customers and business, was pushed out by relatives who expressed their greed for more of the company profits for them and less for the employees and the workers remaining united enough to return the good CEO to power. Not only do we need more CEOs like Arthur T DeMoulas, we need more workers like the Market Basket employees who stood together and fought the greed of corporate America, and won! From +Daily Kos and +NPR .....

Let me tell you a story about a CEO, one who has so much loyalty from
his workers that they went on strike to get him reinstated after he was
fired.
First, a little background.
My first encounter with the DeMoulas name was as a kid growing up in
Massachusetts. The logo was splashed on most of the little milk cartons I
drank at school as a young puppy. However, outside of the dairy
goodness and a few businesses here and there with the name on the side, I
didn't really encounter the name again until I moved to Somerville MA
over a decade ago. That was my first encounter with Market Basket.
People outside the Northeast US most likely won't have heard about Market Basket.
It's a grocery store chain with over 70 stores in Massachusetts, New
Hampshire and Maine. My sister likes shopping there because it has low
prices and good quality food, and will walk the extra mile past the
Whole Foods near her home. I don't shop there often enough, but it's on
my radar and I have no problems with their selection or prices.
This summer, the company board voted to fire its CEO, Arthur T.
DeMoulas. The person who most wanted him out was his cousin, Arthur S.
DeMoulas, whose part of the family had the majority of the stock but who
had one relative who kept supporting Arthur T. until recently. What
followed was one of the more interesting strikes and boycotts in recent
Boston memory, as hundreds of workers walked off the job and thousands
of workers stopped shopping at Market Basket, all in order to get Arthur
T. back on the job. More after the calligraphic squiggle of love.

Arthur T. is not your typical CEO type. He would visit the various
stores personally, talking with the workers about the store, ways to
improve it, what-have-you. What's more, he listened to his employees and
made an effort to take care of them. Wages and benefits at the chain
are above industry average, and workers are proud to say they work
there. The employees felt a strong connection to Arthur T. and his
management style.
When Arthur S. got his brother fired, the workers were incensed.
Arthur T. had done more than just be a good person to chat with and a
respectful boss. During his tenure as CEO the company grew at a good
clip, never taking on debt to finance an expansion, and generally paying
good dividends to family shareholders in addition to good wages to
employees.
Workers were worried that the ouster of Arthur T. would mean a sea
change at the stores, including but not limited to worse working
conditions and lower pay. So, even without a union on hand, workers went
on strike. Employees from baggers to cashiers to stockers to warehouse
to mid-level management all walked off the job and stood in picket
lines. Even without union protection, something they'd never needed
under Arthur T., they walked.
Sales at Market Basket stores took a nosedive. People who knew
Soviet-era Russia store shelves would think they'd walked into a store
out of Moscow in the 1980s--no produce, very few cans, a wasteland of
empty aisles with barely any shoppers.
Employees got nasty letters about abandoning their jobs, but they
stayed in front of the stores with signboards. The governors of both
Massachusetts and New Hampshire asked workers to go back on the job, to
no avail. Only the return of Arthur T. DeMoulas would bring them back.
Two hours ago, the Boston Globe reported
that the side of the family that kicked Artie T. out would sell their
complete remaining interest in the company to Artie T's side of the
family. For the first time the chain will take on private equity debt,
which might be a worrisome thing given the shambles the chain is in
after over a month of walkouts and practically no customers, but
suppliers and workers all seem ready to make it work again.
Arthur S. Demoulas and his side of the family isn't leaving
empty-handed. They're getting over $1.5 billion for their share of the
company. That's good eating money.
All I know is, as soon as the kids are in school for a day I'm
heading to Market Basket and thanking the employees for their bravery.
And putting some things in a grocery cart.
We need more CEOs like Arthur T. DeMoulas.

For six weeks, workers at Market Basket have protested to
demand the reinstatement of the supermarket chain's former president,
Arthur T. Demoulas. On Thursday, they got their way. Demoulas, who had
been ousted by the company's board in June, will be returning to his
position as part of a new deal.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:
Supermarket
workers wanted their ousted CEO to be put back in charge and they got
their way. Now Market Basket trucks are rolling once again in New
England. A six-week-old walkout had brought the supermarket chain to its
knees. It's an astonishing victory by non-union labor, but at what
cost? From member station WBUR in Boston, Curt Nickisch reports.
CURT
NICKISCH, BYLINE: For the first time since he was fired as CEO in June,
Arthur T. Demoulas parked at company headquarters in Duxbury,
Massachusetts and begin his work day. Hundreds of workers greeted him,
back on the job too, just hours after the deal was signed for Demoulas
to buy-out his rival cousin in the family-owned business. He climbed
onto the back of a pickup truck and told workers he loved them.
ARTHUR
DEMOULAS: You, and only you, have got the professors and the CEOs at
the workplace here at Market Basket so much more than just a job.
(CHEERING)
NICKISCH:
The company's 25,000 employees could hardly believe it. They'd been
afraid they'd lose their bonuses and positive work environment under the
replacement executives so they brought the $4 billion firm to a
standstill and made history by winning back their CEO. Bill Nascimento
is a bakery manager at one of the company's 71 full-service
supermarkets.
BILL NASCIMENTO: There's no words for it. I'm just happy, you know? This is what we were dreaming every single day.
NICKISCH: At a Market Basket warehouse, the forklifts are rolling again,
BRIAN
KELLEHER: These guys are loading the trucks going to the stores, these
are all loaded up ready to go, full trailers, ready to get this out of
here.
NICKISCH: Warehouse manager Brian Kelleher knows that the
sooner stores have food on their shelves, the sooner Market Basket can
make money again.
KELLEHER: You got dog food, you got tuna
fish, you got pickles - I mean, you got everything that these people
need right now to get everybody on track to get their groceries in their
cupboards and try to get those customers back on board with us, which
I'm sure they will be.
NICKISCH: But that's an open question.
The walkout forced customers to do their grocery shopping elsewhere and
they may not all come back. It could also take weeks to restore
relationships with food suppliers. Frank Hoy researches family
businesses at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He says after losing
millions of dollars, Market Basket is now in a very different financial
position.
FRANK HOY: You know, whatever happens, you know,
there's going to be debt to be serviced that this company hasn't had to
deal with before. And that almost certainly means belt-tightening.
NICKISCH:
That's because as part of the deal, returning CEO Arthur T. Demoulas is
replacing his rival family members with new investors. He's reportedly
getting money from a private equity firm and a commercial bank. The
company culture may be stronger than ever in this astounding victory,
but the worker walkout has resulted in a new test for Market Basket. For
NPR News, I'm Curt Nickisch in Boston.

If your boss was fired, would you walk off the job in protest?
That's
what's happening at the New England grocery store chain Market Basket,
which has 25,000 employees. Business at Market Basket stores has slowed
to a trickle as workers disrupt operations, stage protests and ask
shoppers to stay away.
They say CEO Arthur T. Demoulas treats them well, and they want him reinstated.
Outside
the Market Basket store in Somerville, Mass., a dozen workers wave
protest signs as cars honk in support. Gabriel Pinto, a bagger, says he
wants the new top executives gone.
"We're here to get support from all the customers and try and make sure no one comes in. We want Artie T. back," Pinto says.
He's referring to Arthur T., not his cousin and boardroom rival ArthurS. Demoulas. Their battle for control of the company has now spilled over into the 71 supermarkets.
Inside the Somerville store, only three checkout aisles are open. None of them has a line. The entire produce section is barren.
At
the deli counter at the back of the store, Adelaide Leonardo is
stocking the display case with cheese that may just end up spoiling.
Fliers are taped to the glass. One says: "Boycott Market Basket."
Another says: "Bring back A-T-D, our one true leader."
Leonardo agrees. "We know everybody. We know the customers," she says. "We are family here."
Yet
family is the reason Market Basket is in a muddle. Cousins Arthur T.
and Arthur S. are both grandsons of a Greek immigrant, also named Arthur
Demoulas, who opened a small grocery in working-class Lowell, Mass.,
nearly a century ago. Two of his sons grew it into a regional
supermarket chain. Their sons have been feuding for decades. An epic
legal battle between the two in the 1990s featured a courtroom
fistfight. Last month, Arthur S. gained control of the board and ousted
Arthur T. That's when workers surprised themselves with their power to
grind business to a standstill.

The aisles and food cases are largely empty inside a Market
Basket in Somerville, Mass. Workers have disrupted operations by leaving
produce to spoil in the back of the store and parking semitrucks to
block loading bays.

Curt Nickisch/WBUR

"We're going to survive. We stay strong," says store manager
Daniel Rivera, who's been at the company for 24 years. Rivera says
workers are fiercely loyal to the ousted CEO for treating them well.
Everyone gets quarterly bonuses. The pay is decent. Rivera says Arthur
T. Demoulas often came through the stores, making it clear he cares more
about people than money.
"Like I say, I work in different
companies before, and I never have owners come in to me and say, 'How
you doing today?' or 'How's your family?' It's great," Rivera says.
Those loyal workers have brought the company to its knees. Market Basket is losing an estimated $10 million per day.

John Davis, the head of the Families in Business program at
Harvard Business School, says there's still time for the two Demoulas
cousins to put aside their egos and save the company.
"Hopefully,
there's enough love in this family, not for one another anymore but for
the legacy of their fathers, that this family will do the right thing
and re-create a stable ownership group," Davis says.
As the
deadlock drags on into its second week, the board is discussing its
options behind closed doors. Company executives says they want employees
back at work by Monday, and have promised "they can return without fear
of penalty."

DAVID GREENE, HOST:
In
New England, a pretty dramatic uprising of workers at a super market
chain is now in its fourth week. The company is called Market Basket and
its 25,000 employees have ground business to a halt, costing millions
of dollars a day. What they want is their CEO back.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
CROWD: Artie T. Artie T. Artie T. Artie T. Artie T. Artie T.
GREENE:
Artie T. or Arthur T. Demoulas is the former CEO. His cousin and
boardroom rival Arthur S. Demoulas fired him. From member station WBUR
in Boston, Curt Nickisch reports on a family feud that is spiraling out
of control.
CURT NICKISCH, BYLINE: Some call it the Occupy
movement of labor struggles. Some say it's a new worker revolt for the
21st century. The fact is, after their CEO was fired, hundreds of Market
Basket warehouse workers and truckers walked off the job.
MICHAEL PEREZ: This is symbolizing something in America.
NICKISCH:
Warehouse employee Michael Perez press says it's simple. Workers like
him want Arthur T. Demoulas back because he paid them well. They fear
that Arthur S. Demoulas will take their bonuses and give them to
shareholders instead.
PEREZ: These greedy one-percenters cannot
just come in here and say, listen, we're going to take from you and
we're going to take from you. And we're going to keep giving it to our
rich cousins and our rich family. No, 600 people just crippled a
million-dollar company.
NICKISCH: The Market Basket takedown is
unprecedented because these workers are not unionized. They're not even
technically on strike. But they've paralyzed the company by stopping
food deliveries to its 71 full-service supermarkets around the region.
The checkout lanes are open at a store in suburban Boston but most of
the shelves are bare. Store director Michael Dunleavy told his 300
part-time workers he doesn't have any work for them.
MICHAEL DUNLEAVY: Terrible, terrible - I had employees crying in front of me.
NICKISCH:
Dunleavy supports the disruption of the business, but he says he can't
give shift to workers who have nothing to do. And there are more than
12,000 part-time employees across the company.
DUNLEAVY: Temporarily, there may not be any hours available for them to work. No one is being terminated or laid off.
SILVIA BATISTA: I'm very, very hurt today.
NICKISCH: Cashier Silvia Batista says she doesn't blame her boss. She blames the new company executives.
BATISTA: I don't agree with - those people doing. I hope they know how hurt I am.
NICKISCH:
Batista says she'll have to collect employment until business gets back
to normal. The ousted CEO Arthur T. Demoulas has offered to buy the
other half of the company, controlled by his rival, Arthur S. But the
board accuses Arthur T. of encouraging the worker uprising and holding
the company hostage. He says the board is playing games. The enduring
standoff is not only hurting profits and part-timers. It's also hurting
many low-income customers who depend on the discount grocer. Customers
have been taping their receipts from competitor supermarkets to the
windows of Market Basket stores.
ISABELLE JACKSON: I can't take it. I'm very upset.
NICKISCH:
Isabelle Jackson is raising her four grandchildren in public housing
and says she can't afford other grocery stores. She calls Market Basket
workers selfish.
JACKSON: You know, you don't shutdown a business like this and leave the people to not eat. Did anybody think about us?
NICKISCH:
The company has hired some replacement truckers and workers to try to
resume deliveries to the stores. But current employees are not exactly
welcoming them.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: You dirt bag, you dirt bag, you dirt bag.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: You scum.
NICKISCH: As the costs mount for both sides, things only seem to be getting uglier. For NPR News, I'm Curt Nickisch in Boston.

THE militarization of our community police departments must end. Our villages, towns, counties, and cities do not need tanks and armored vehicles, they need more police better trained in community policing and paid a salary due public servants charged with serving and protecting. With police forces trained to protect us from crime while respecting our civil rights and civil liberties, and community policies that actually address the root causes of crime (neglect of communities by all levels of government, economic inequality, education inequality, racism and discrimination) the people will have a partner in their police departments to keep our communities safe and not one acting like they have license to detain, maim, shoot and kill a la the Third World. Please sign this petition from the ACLU calling on the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Justice to stop funding and supplying the militarization of our community police departments....

It’s not too late to add your name. Over 44,000 ACLU
supporters have signed our petition demanding that the Departments of
Defense, Homeland Security and Justice stop funneling billions into the
militarization of state and local police forces — will you join them?

Two weeks after Mike Brown was shot and killed in Ferguson, Missouri,
the tanks have left the streets, and there are fewer cover stories in
the media.

But the problem still remains: too many neighborhoods – particularly
those inhabited by black and brown people – are being policed like war
zones. It’s time to tell the feds to stop funding the siege on communities of color.

President Obama gets that there is a serious problem here. On Saturday,
he announced a review of federal programs that fund wartime arsenals
for local police forces. “There is a big difference between our military
and our local law enforcement, and we don’t want those lines blurred,”
he stated.

Those lines were definitely blurred in Ferguson. Peaceful protesters were met by snipers, tanks, and tear gas. Let’s ramp up the pressure and tell the DoJ, DoD, and DHS: We’re tired of being treated like the enemy by those who are supposed to protect and serve us.

The ACLU has been on the ground in Ferguson from the beginning.
We filed two Missouri Sunshine lawsuits to obtain incident reports for
the shooting from Ferguson and St. Louis county police departments,
secured an agreement for the public and media to document police
actions, filed a civil rights complaint when protestors faced arrest if
they stopped moving, and helped organize legal observers to document
First Amendment violations. But our work is not over.

Dogs
are welcome to bring their
parents as long as they keep their parents on leash and well behaved.
Heat relief stations will be available in the Scottish Dogs area.Special Dog Events on
Sunday morning.

TICKETS
at the Gate:

Two
day adult $30Single
day adult $20Children
5 - 12 $5Under
5 FreeChildren 12 and under free on Sunday

Gates
open to the general public at 9 a.m.
both Saturday and Sunday.

The
Festival will close at 6 both days,
although
we will continue with the Concert on
Saturday evening until 9.